This invention relates to the field of removing pipe coatings and more in particular to a method and apparatus for removing bituminous or other coatings from a pipe surface, e.g. a portion of a pipeline.
Pipes in the ground are often provided with an exterior bituminous coating comprising a fiber web wound around the pipe and impregnated with bituminous material. While such a bituminous coating may provide sufficient corrosion resistance for a long period of time, it may be damaged after the lapse of such period in consequence of roots ingrowth or the like. Therefore, pipes should be excavated or exposed after a predetermined time period, e.g. after 20 or 30 years and the bituminous coating thereon should be removed and replaced by a fresh coating prior to reburying the pipes or re-covering them with earth.
The removal of a bituminous coating and of a primer undercoating is effected up till now by means of hand tools like e.g. knifes and it will be clear that such is a time-consuming and laborious operation.